Serena Williams' coach says she will return for French Open

Updated 12:08 pm, Monday, May 14, 2018

ROME (AP) — Serena Williams' coach says she will play the French Open beginning in two weeks.

The tournament will mark the 23-time Grand Slam champion's first major since returning to the tour from maternity leave.

Coach Patrick Mouratoglou tells the WTA tour's website, "Serena will play the French Open to win it."

Williams returned to the tour briefly this year, after a 14-month absence to give birth to her daughter. But she withdrew from last week's Madrid Open and this week's Italian Open.

Mouratoglou says when Williams arrived to train with him in France late last month, "We realized that she was not ready yet. The time she lost after the delivery with all the medical issues she had to go through, was missing."

Mouratoglou adds, "That is the reason why we decided to skip Madrid and Rome as she needed five weeks to be perfectly ready. ... I am very satisfied and confident that she will be ready for Roland Garros."

Williams, a three-time French Open champion, has not played since a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka in March at the Miami Open.

Photo: Lynne Sladky, AP

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In this photo taken on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, Serena Williams returns to Naomi Osaka of Japan, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Serena Williams' coach says she will play the French Open beginning in two weeks. The tournament will mark the 23-time Grand Slam champion's first major since returning to the tour from maternity leave. Coach Patrick Mouratoglou tells the WTA tour's website, "Serena will play the French Open to win it." less

In this photo taken on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, Serena Williams returns to Naomi Osaka of Japan, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Serena Williams' coach says she will play the ... more